Shampoo bowl



R. KEHOE SHAMPOO BOWL Jan. 13, 1970 Filed Sept. 20, 1967 FIG.

FIG. 2

FIG. 5

Ralph Kewoe INVENTOR.

United States Patent 3,488,781 SHAMPOO BOWL Ralph Kehoe, Miami Beach, Fla. (20 Davis Road, Delray Beach, Fla. 33444) Filed Sept. 20, 1967, Ser. No. 669,037 Int. Cl. A47k 3/12; A61h 35/00; A45d 19/00 US. Cl. 4-159 5 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE A shampoo bowl having a generally U-shaped neck supporting portion with openings in the neck portion for removing unwanted cleansing agents from a users neck. The fluid will flow between the generally U-shaped support member and the portion of the users neck lying on the support member.

This invention relates to a shampoo bowl, and, more particularly, to a shampoo bowl having a neck-supporting, neck-cleaning portion.

As is perhaps well known, shampoo bowls or haircleaning bowls have U-shaped depressions in the front thereof, for receiving the neck of a person using the shampoo bowl, in order to support the persons head, face up, across the bowl. The U-shaped depressions have been designed with wide or narrow, but generally horizontal, surface areas. Supporting depressions have been designed with wide or large surface areas in order to lower the weight per square inch on the portion of the neck lying in the U-shaped depression, thereby providing a comfortable neck-supporting depression. The ectodermal epidermis of the neck portion resting in a supporting depression cannot be reached by beauticians or barbers unless the neck is raised out of the supporting depression. The neck hairs must be within reach in order to cleanse the hairs. Also, neck-supporting depressions have been designed with a narrow surface area. The narrow U-shaped depression will not seal neck hairs between the upper surface of the U-shaped depression and the portion of the neck resting in the depression. The neck hairs may, therefore, be easily cleaned by using the fluids in the bowl. With either a wide or narrow U-shaped depression, the weight of a persons head aids in closing or sealing the U-shaped depression, preventing the outflow of fluids from the bowl onto the shoulders of the person receiving a shampoo or massage.

The present invention relates to a new and improved shampoo bowl having a neck-supporting, neck-cleaning portion, a generally U-shaped depression, which provides a comfort-able neck support and allows fluids to reach the neck hairs on the portion of the neck that rests in the U-shaped depression. The fluids will flow between the portion of the neck resting in the depression and the upper surface of the depression. In the preferred embodiment, the new and improved shampoo bowl includes a generally U-shaped depression located in the front of the bowl and having a substantial surface width for supporting or holding ones neck. The large surface width provides a large or wide surface area upon which the neck is comfortably supported when the head, face up, is held across the bowl. A plurality of rows of openings or ports are provided in the surface of the U-shaped depression to allow cleaning fluid to flow across the surface of the depression to the bowl. The shape of the openings or ports in the surface of the U-shaped depression provides directional control means for the fluid flowing from the openings. The fluid will flow between the surface of the U-shaped depression and the ectodermal epidermis of the portion of the neck lying in the U-shaped depression. The neck hairs may be cleaned by the fluid 3,488,781 Patented Jan. 13, 1970 without raising the neck out of the supporting portion. Also, the U-shaped depression slopes downwardly in the direction of the center of the bowl to aid the movement of the fluid toward the center of the bowl.

It is an object of this invention to provide a new and improved shampoo bowl with a neck-supporting, neckcleaning portion for providing a comfortable neck support and for providing a cleaning means for cleaning neck hairs that lie on the surface of the supporting portion.

It is also an object of this invention to provide a shampoo bowl with a neck-supporting, neck-cleaning device that is shaped to prevent the outflow of fluids in one direction and to aid the inward flow of fluids toward the center of the bowl when a persons neck is placed in the supporting device.

Another object of this invention is to provide a shampoo bowl having a neck-supporting portion with an opening therein to provide access, by cleaning fluids, to neck hairs lying between the neck-supporting portion and the portion of the neck resting in the neck-supporting portion.

A further object of this invention is to provide a new and improved neck-supporting portion for a shampoo bowl. A fluid flow is provided between the surface of the neck-supporting portion and the ectodermal epidermis of the neck resting in the neck-supporting portion in order to allow beauticians and barbers to quickly clean neck hairs and remove cleaning emulsifying agents, such as soap, from neck hair when the neck is in the holding portion.

A further object of this invention is to provide a U- shaped neck-supporting device for use on a shampoo bowl, the device being connected to a conduit that supplies a fluid from a fluid input to a surface of the neck-supporting portion of the U-shaped device.

An additional object of this invention is to provide a U-shaped neck-supporting means having fluid access means in the surface thereof, with directional control of the fluid flowing across the neck-supporting surface of the U-shaped means.

In accordance with these and other objects, which will be apparent hereinafter, the instant invention will now be described with particular reference to the accompanying drawing, illustrating the preferred embodiment of the device.

In the drawing:

FIGURE 1 is an elevation, partially broken away, of the shampoo bowl provided with a neck-supporting portion having openings therein;

FIGURE 2 is an enlarged view, in cross section, of the neck-supporting portion;

FIGURE 3 is a cutaway plan view of the U-shaped neck-supporting portion.

Referring now in detail to the drawing, wherein an embodiment of the invention is shown, and referring particularly to FIGURE 1, the shampoo or hair-cleaning bowl, generally designated as numeral 2, has a bowl portion 4, generally semi-circular in design, and a generally U-shaped neck-supporting or neck-holding portion 6. The external surface of the bowl 2 is preferably made of a smooth, hard material, such as porcelain. The upper portion of the shampoo bowl 2 has rim 8 with a generally horizontal upper surface 10 having an outer vertical surface 12 and an inner vertical surface 14. The generally U-shaped neck-supporting portion 6 is depressed below the horizontal upper surface 10 and located in the front of the bowl. An external depressed horizontal shelf 16 lies in the rear of the bowl. The depth of the bowl 4, below the U-shaped portion 6, is sized to allow the back of ones head to lie above the lower surface 18 of the bowl 4, when the neck is resting in the U-shaped portion 6. The width and length of the bowl is also sized to provide space for a beautician or barber to massage all portions of a persons head lying across the bowl. In the lowermost portion of the bowl is a drain 20. The drain 20 carries away waste materials during the cleaning or shampooing process.

The upper surface of the U-shaped portion 6 is a continuation of the horizontal upper surface 10, with a plurality of rows of openings or ports, generally designated as numeral 22 in the lower portion of the necksupporting portion. Each opening is connected to a conduit 24 which, in turn, is connected to a fluid input pipe, not shown, at the rear of the bowl. The conduit 24 is connected along the outer surface of the bowl, around the drain 20, to the fluid input pipe. The conduit 24 may be an integral part of the bowl 4. A fluid control means 26 is connected to the conduit 24 between the fluid input pipe and the openings 22. The fluid control means 26 is connected to a valve system, not shown, to regulate the fluid flow through conduit 24 and, in turn, to control the fluid flow on the upper surface of the neck-supporting portion 6. Control means 26 may also control the fluid flowing in other conduits, not shown,- for cleaning ones head from a position above the bowl 4.

The fluids on the upper surface of the neck-supporting or neck-holding portion, flow from ports 22 which are the terminal end of risesrs 28, shown in FIGURE 2. The risers, positioned between the ports 22 and conduit 24, provide a passageway for the fluid to flow from the conduit 24 onto the surface of the neck-supporting portion. The terminal end of the risers are enlarged, as shown at 30, to control the direction of the fluid flowing from the risers. The center of the enlarged openings are offset from the centerline of the risers in the direction of the center of the bowl in order to direct the fluid to the center of the bowl. The nozzle design of the terminal portion of the risers may vary in order to provide various well known control features.

To insure proper operation of the new and improved neck-supporting portion 6, the U-shaped surface slopes downwardly toward the center of the bowl portion 4. The fluids will drain down the sloping surface toward the center of the bowl 4. Gravitational force aids the movement of the fluid on the upper surface of the U- shaped neck portion.

The new and improved neck-supporting, neck-cleaning portion may be designed as an attachment device for shampoo bowls. This attachment device includes connecting means thereon for connecting the device to the front of the bowl and a U-shaped neck-supporting portion therein with an upper surface sloping downwardly toward the center of the bowl. The upper surface also includes a plurality of rows of ports therein, similar to the rows of ports in the U-shaped depression in FIG- URES 2 and 3. The ports are connected to a conduit or pipe having a fitting at the distal end thereof, for connecting the conduit to a source of fluid, such as water, at a control valve or input pipe. The fluid will flow through the conduit and ports to the upper surface of the supporting portion in order to rinse the neck of a person who supports his head across the bowl by resting his neck in the U-shaped depression.

In use, a person will rest his head, face up, across the bowl with his neck resting in the U-shaped portion of the bowl. By actuating the control valve, the cleaning or rinsing fluid will flow from the openings in the U- shaped neck-supporting portion to clean or rinse neck hairs that are sealed between the upper surface of the U-shaped portion and the neck of the person receiving a shampoo. By manipulating the control valve, the operator can provide a fluid flow for cleaning or rinsing the neck hairs and neck area without raising the neck from the supporting position. If the neck is not raised from the U-shaped portion, the fluids will not run onto the shoulders of the person receiving a shampoo. The fluid pressure will tend to direct the fluid flow in a vertical path. The path will be obstructed by the skin of the neck portion lying in the U-shaped member. With the aid of the sloping U-shaped supporting portion and the directional control means provided at the terminal end of the risers, the fluid will flow toward the center of the bowl between the surface of the U-shaped portion and the neck supported in the U-shaped portion.

I wish it to be understood that I do not desire to be limited to the exact details of construction shown and described for obvious modifications will occur to a person skilled in the art.

What is claimed is:

1. A neck-supporting device for supporting ones head across a bowl, comprising a neck-supporting portion and a conduit connected to said neck-supporting portion for transporting fluid, said neck-supporting portion having a top neck-supporting surface with at least one fluid access port therein, said conduit connected to said port to transport fluid to said top-neck supporting surface, whereby the portion of ones neck resting on said topneck supporting surface may be cleaned by the fluid flowing from said port.

2. A shampoo bowl comprising, a bowl having an upper rim, and a neck-supporting portion in said upper I'lIIl to support ones head, face up, across the bowl, a conduit connected to said neck-supporting portion for transporting fluid, said supporting portion having a top neck-supporting surface with at least one opening in said surface communicating with said conduit to allow fluid to flow between said top-neck-supporting surface of said supporting portion and the portion of ones neck lying in and resting upon said upper surface.

3. A shampoo bowl as set forth in claim 2, wherein a riser is connected between said opening and said conduit, said opening being elongated with the center of said opening being offset from the center of said riser toward the center of said bowl to control the direction of fluid flow from said opening toward the bowl.

4. A shampoo bowl as set forth in claim 2, wherein a plurality of rows of openings are provided in the top neck-supporting surface.

5. A shampoo bowl as set forth in claim 2, wherein said top neck-supporting surface slopes downwardly toward the center of the bowl.

FOREIGN PATENTS 934,074 lO/ 1955 Germany.

MERVIN STEIN, Primary Examiner G. H. KRIZMANICH, Assistant Examiner 

